Grian A. Cutanda
has a PhD in Education Sciences with International Mention from the University of
Granada (2016), a master's degree in Innovation and Research in Education from the UNED
(2012) and an university degree and a master's degree in Psychology from the University of
Valencia (1980). Currently, he is a member of the Research Group "Emerging Values, Social
Education and Educational Policies" at the University of
Granada.

Besides being an author of 14 books, Grian has worked as clinical and educational
psychologist, radio broadcaster and sports psychologist in the Spanish and World Rally
Campionships. In fact, he worked with the elite driver Luís Climent in the Opel, Citroën and
Renault Spanish Teams, and in the Skoda World Rally Team, obtaining a Spanish Rally
Championship in 1996 and a World Championship for Private Teams (FIA Cup) in
1999.

Being a translator of over a hundred titles for various Spanish publishing
houses, Grian focused his work in recent years on social activism and education for peace and
sustainability. He is
the founder and director of the Avalon Project - Initiative for a Culture of Peace, a Spanish
NGO officially backed by Professor Federico Mayor Zaragoza, former UNESCO's Director-General
(1987-1999)

Recently, since the completion of his master in Education and the beginning of
his PhD research, Grian has also been publishing scholarly articles related to his research
in Social Education for peace and sustainability. (Here you can find a
list of his academic publications.)

In his spare time, Grian has devoted much of his
time to music, being part of two rock bands in the 70's, with which he would record two LPs,
and a theatre company specialized in musicals, the Avalon Troupe, between 1986 and 2004.
Moreover, he recently recovered his passion for rugby union, a sport he practiced from 1971 to
1984, coaching a rugby team in Spain between 2010 and
2013.

Grian was born in Venezuela, being the second son
of a family of Spanish emigrants, returning with them to Spain in 1964, at 7 years old. He has been
living most of his life in the Valencian town of Requena, but currently has his residence in
Edinburgh, Scotland.

The successofhisbookswould lead himtospreadhisideasand hisvision ofanewhumanitythroughhundredsof lectures, conferencesand workshopsinSpain,Mexico,Venezuela,
UnitedStatesand United Kingdom, as well as carry outnewcreative projects, such asa seriesofbook-CD'sonmysticsof allcultureswith theprestigiousmedievalistmusicianEduardoPaniagua.

Grianlives in Scotlandwith his partner,Marta Ventura, and hasadaughter,
Diana(b.1984),
and two non-biological sons,Govinda(b.1980) and Martí (b. 1998).

"The truth is that all man
is like the dancing lights and fiery shadows in a dark room of the house. The flames raise him to
the clouds of his divine condition, at the same time that they create frightening shapeless shadows
on the walls of the room. It is the double nature that we all take part in; the two masks that we
all use in the theatre of life."

Grian has worked
in his books both fiction (inspirational books, short stories and novels) and essay, his work
being deeply inspired by Nature, abounding in natural settings and landscapes, and including
characters from Nature itself (such as Wind, Eagle or Oak, in his
bookBeyond the Rainbow). In his subjects, he speaks of a simple and direct spirituality, far
from dogmatic corsets and unreasonable attitudes, to set out from here his views about a new
world and a new humanity.

His prose is
visual and descriptive, but not devoid of beauty and rhythm (sometimes to the point of
becoming poetic prose), and has the peculiarity to dip the reader in a peaceful atmosphere
that makes even easier the understanding of his life
proposals.

On the whole, Grian’s books are easy to
read despite the depth of his message, to the point that books such
asThe Gardener have become a part of the curricula of high schools in Spain, being a
bedside book for many people around the world.

Perhaps one exception to this
simplicity is his workMahabbat, his more elaborated book;
not only because his profound work of documentation, being a historical novel set in the 10th
century Umayyad Cordova, but also because its deep literary style and its probably excessive depth
of content.

Grian influences are mainly of a spiritual
nature, a character that marks most of his literary and creative work. You can find signs of
mystical authors and spiritual teachers such as Rumi, Ibn ‘Arabî, Anthony de Mello or Jiddu
Krishnamurti, but also from psychologists and philosophers such as Carl Jung, Ken Wilber,
Henry Corbin, Arne Naess or Karlfried Durkheim.

But, in his inspirational books, his literary
influences are in the works of authors such as Gibran Khalil Gibran or Antoine de
Saint-Exupéry (even Rabindranath Tagore in his small incursions into the poetic prose), as
well as in the writings of Anthony de Mello or traditional works of Sufism. This is evident
especially in the resources he uses in his short stories, including the use of irony, satire
and ambiguity. But Grian deals more with social issues and images of a higher world and
humanity.

PHOTOS

Click on theimagethatinterests youand there will be openanew windowwith thephoto.These picturesaredisplayedinchronological order from1996,when GrianpublishedTheGardener(first
twophotos),
andbetween2003and2013 (the remainder).